Dominello v Dominello (No 2)

The case of *Dominello v Dominello (No 2)* concerned an appeal regarding costs orders made in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute involved a plaintiff and a Nominal Defendant, with the appeal focusing on the basis upon which costs should be awarded.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether a *Sanderson* order, which typically applies when a plaintiff pursues alternative or interdependent claims against multiple defendants and ultimately succeeds against only one, was appropriate in this instance. The court was required to determine if the claims against the Nominal Defendant were of such a nature as to warrant a departure from the usual costs order.

The Court of Appeal reasoned that the claims against the Nominal Defendant were neither alternative nor interdependent. Consequently, the court found that the criteria for making a *Sanderson* order were not met. The court therefore vacated the original order that the Nominal Defendant pay the plaintiff's costs of the action on the ordinary basis. In its place, the court substituted an order that the Nominal Defendant pay the plaintiff's costs on the ordinary basis up to and including 22 July 2007, and thereafter on the indemnity basis. The plaintiff's notice of motion was otherwise dismissed, with no order as to costs for that motion.